And I apologize for anyone who's been waiting for the rest of this, I have no excuse, I've just been lazy… I bet you had all given up on the end, huh?
Part 10
The doorbell sounded loudly through the house, followed by a wild scurrying of sliding feet and raucous giggles.
"I beat you!"
"Did not!"
The wooden door muffled the latter cry but the voice's owner was unmistakably one very young boy. Surprise and excitement lit his eyes when he peered through the window before throwing wide the door to allow the grandmothers entrance to his grandparent's home. Little Melinda grinned up at the pair of women from behind her nephew, just as excited as Enki about their unexpected visitors.
"Gran-Mel! Granma Janice! Where's Mama? Is she here, did she send me a present? Do I get to go back home with you now and see the museum?"
Janice laughed at the youngster's enthusiasm and tousled his hair with her stiff fingers. "So many questions for such a tiny thing!" she exclaimed. "You're just like your mama was when she was your age, always prattling on about whatever struck her fancy."
Enki beamed at the comparison to his adored mother, but his young aunt had difficulty imagining her solemn quiet sister ever being overly vocally inquisitive… dark, brooding, and protective were better adjectives to describe Xe. Little Melinda's grin broadened when her own beloved Gran-Mel shook her finger at her old friend.
"My Xena never prattled on like that, you're mistaking her with your Gabrielle." Smiling down at Enki to soften the statement, she added, "but you are the very image of your mother, little one. Sometimes I forget you're not my little Xe Xe come back to me as a child."
Little Melinda watched the exchange with an unfazed smile and welcoming eyes, amazed by both the elder women. The whole of her family accepted the women's unwavering devotion to her older sister, even if they didn't quite understand it, with the possible exception of her mother, Janice, who worried over the chance that any one of her children feeling slighted. The woman's fears were unfounded. There had never been any question as to which the favorite grandchild was, but regardless of their unabashed affection toward Xe, the rest of the children knew they too were loved. There was just something about Xe that drew a certain amount of attention. It was almost as if her very solemnity and usual silence created some kind of inescapable magnetic attraction, people were drawn to her like so many moths to a flame. But it was the people Xe let get close to her that intrigued Little Melinda since they were so very few.
"Mom will be glad to see that you both made it back okay."
"Come here, Little Mel, and give this old lady a hug," Janice demanded, pounding on the front steps with her cane.
The child enveloped both Janice and her little nephew in a ferocious embrace and smiled at her true grandmother. "You left Xe behind to take care of matters, didn't you?"
"So smart you are, little one. Yes, as a matter of fact we did leave her behind to take care of things. But she asked us to come and tell Enki about the wonderful surprise she has in store for him." Mel cupped her youngest granddaughter's cheek in her wrinkled hand and bent down to be at eyelevel with Ea. "Your Mama said to tell you that you finally get your wish."
The little one looked questioningly at his young aunt but Little Melinda was just as much in the dark as he was. Turning back to Janice's embrace he looked up at his great-grandmother. "Which one?"
"The one for a brother or sister. And guess what, your Mama's bringing home one of each."
At the sound of her mother's voice, Janice had followed Little Melinda and Ea's path to the front door. She reached the foyer just in time to hear the specifics of Xena Alexandria's surprise for Enki. "So just who has that fool-child of mine saved this time?"
The early morning sun was just beginning to send out a golden glow across the eastern sky when Gabrielle stretched in her sleep and, forgetting that she had fallen to sleep in the chair to be closer to Xena as she battled her nightmares, fell unceremoniously to the carpeted floor. Xe grinned, waiting for her companion to rouse from her deep slumber. Sleeping heavily was one thing but this was ridiculous.
"Brie," she whispered, knowing full well that her hushed tone would have no effect. "Brie," a little louder. She reached out to shake the girl's shoulder but still got no reaction. "Gabrielle, come on now. Aren't you hungry?" That got a response and Xe shook her head in wonder.
"Hungry…" the muffled word drifted up from the disheveled lump that still lay unmoving on the carpet.
"Then get up. We've got things to get accomplished this morning, sleepy head."
It hadn't been as hard to convince Gabrielle to trek to the child welfare center as Xe had expected. Why the girl believed a word she said, she would never know. 'No, no, I'm just going to stay here and rest. Of course I'm not going to run off after Liam half-cocked, I'm not that much of a fool. I promise I'll be right here when you get back. Don't worry.' She did at least wait until she was sure Gabrielle was a good distance from the hotel before she set out to track down her antagonizer, decked out in the excruciatingly touristy clothes she'd found for sale in the hotel's gift shop.
Resplendent in fringe and stereotypic Mediterranean embroidery, she had almost made it to the corner before the almost forgotten cold chill of near hysterical terror gripped her. Standing in front of her on the sidewalk only an arm's length away and oblivious to the drizzling rain was Liam. He had the upper hand for the moment, surprise was on his side.
"Hello, love. What brings you to Antalya? You wouldn't be trying to help those two old women steal any more of my rightful discoveries, would you?" A sneer spread across Liam's handsome face as he taunted his former lover.
"Not bloody likely, that sounds like it would be more up your alley." It had only taken Xe a moment to tamp down her old fears. She was a wholly different person than she had been when she had thought she loved Liam; the weaknesses she had once possessed were as foreign to her new personality as a Ming dynasty vase would be in a temple of Zeus.
Liam's gaze shifted slightly, drawing Xe's attention to the two men who were trying to unobtrusively slip up behind her to block her only egress. She circled slowly around Liam, a starving cat on the prowl that had just found its prey, causing him to turn so that all three men were in front of her and stared pointedly at him, raising an eyebrow in silent question.
"You didn't really think you could catch me a second time, did you? I mean, really now Liam, you didn't even catch me the first time, I gave myself over to you quite willingly. And now," she raised her hands in mock surrender, "you don't have anything with which to bargain." Her voice seethed with illicit fury still outraged that he would dare threaten Gabrielle's safety just to get her attention. The girl deserved to keep her innocence intact for as long as she could manage to do so, she'd no doubt loose it all on her own before too much longer without the help of scum the likes of Liam and his grubby henchmen.
Xe's mind was racing for an easy way out of her circumstances. She had changed the bandage on her gunshot wound that morning and found it heavily spotted with blood, her shoulder burned and ached with fiery consistency and, on top of it all, her fingers were beginning to feel numb and tingly, definitely not a good sign. She was also still much too weak for her comfort level. Regardless of how much she wanted to end the confrontation all together and as soon as possible, it would be difficult enough when she was in top form. If she could just get Brie on a plane with the children, then she would be able to focus entirely on the situation without having to worry about her young companion.
"You're mine Xena Xandria, I've marked you now."
"I was never yours, Liam, nor will I ever be."
"Come now, Xena… Never?" He leered at her, his gaze raking across her body and fully taking in the figure that had filled his dreams for so many years. It didn't bother him in the least that the dreams had turned from purely adoring and obsessive to murderous, she was always in his thoughts.
She refused to be taunted; it would do her no good to lose her temper and therefore her focus. "So tell me Liam, just what exactly have you been up to since I last saw you? Still trying to drown your sorrows in cheap swill? Or have you just gone back to your crazed idea that you've been cheated out of fame and glory?" She watched the fury play across his face, he still had not learned how to control his emotions, and it was so easy to get him worked up into a frenzy. One word, a single comment was enough to unleash the tempest.
Irene reached out and grabbed a much younger Xe's arm as she walked past the tent flap, dragging her into the stifling dim interior. She let go as soon as it was evident Xe wasn't going to try to flee. Irene liked the girl in spite of herself. When the young woman had shown up at the site accompanied by not only Melinda Pappas but also Dr. Covington, Irene had written her off as just riding on their shirttails. She didn't care how much the girl was supposed to know about Aegean antiquities and she didn't care that she could read Sanskrit as well as most of the team could read English, she hated the fact that just because she was related somehow or other to two well-known archaeologists, she was deserving of such special consideration. Irene had begged and pleaded to secure a place for herself on the team and then almost lost her spot due to a paperwork error.
Grey eyes studied her intently. Xe waited patiently. She knew how most of the team felt about her and was thankful that once the grandmothers had left she proved to at least be able to hold her own among the rest of the group.
Irene finally spoke, "Look, I know it's none of my business but it's Liam…"
"You're right, it's none of your business." Xe, none too comfortable to begin with, began to step toward the tent flap.
"He's using you to get to Dr. Covington's discoveries. I overheard him speaking with someone on the phone when we went into town yesterday." Irene rushed through the rest of the explanation fearing Xe would leave halfway through and miss part of it.
Xe stared at the other woman for a long moment and then turned to leave. "Thank you for telling me." Irene almost missed the words she spoke and suddenly wished she hadn't been so swift in her initial judgment of the young Xena Cadmus.
When Xe mentioned Irene's suspicions to Liam an hour later, all hell broke loose. Within minutes Liam's usually tidy tent was turned upside down, his shouts had been heard from all areas of the site, and Xe was left staring at him, mouth agape. His reaction had been like quicksilver and the violence had startled her. She didn't think he would have been able to control himself even had he tried, and she wondered what would happen if he ever felt the need to direct his anger specifically at her…
Slowly she began to back along the sidewalk. If she could lure them in front of the alley, maybe she could incapacitate Liam's goons and get some much-needed answers out of the swine that stood before her. Just a few more feet, that's it boys, keep coming. Just a little more… Come on… The alley opened up beside her littered with useless rubbish. Quickly glancing to left she glimpsed a discarded length of lead pipe. An evil grin lit her features, she couldn't have asked for a better weapon if she had prayed to Ares himself.
Once she took her chance and darted into the alley, she surprised even herself with the speed she was able to manage. Her attackers, thinking she was trying to escape, came up short as she grabbed the pipe and swung it at them. The heavy metal met with one goon's temple, sending him crashing to the filthy ground. She grinned as his body crumpled into a motionless heap and taunted the second man. Liam, she knew, would let them risk bodily harm before he so much as raised a finger. Proving to be as stupid as he looked, the second man approached her. She feigned a swing, changing the path of the pipe's momentum just as the man went to lunge for it, as he lost his balance she brought the pipe down on the back of his head.
Not even winded, she turned back to Liam who stood a safe distance away, rich laughter bubbling forth. "That's the best you could find?" She gestured to the pitiful men. "Come now, you're losing you eye for brute strength and moderate intelligence. Then again, you never were a very good judge of character. After all, you thought I would stay with you forever." Circling the now wary man, Xe lunged toward him, dropping down on one knee and sweeping his feet out from under him before he could react.
Liam's head hit the pavement with a dull thud that reverberated off the surrounding brick walls with sickening clarity. He blinked once before Xe straddled his chest, gripping the pipe in both hands and holding it against his windpipe. "This is really just too easy, no challenge…" she muttered softly.
"Now, dearie, you are going to answer a few questions or I might just have to give into temptation and end your miserable little life right here and now." A sadistic grin curved Xe's lips as she stared into Liam's eyes.
"You'd never…" his argument was cut off when Xe pressed the pipe against his neck effectively lessening his oxygen supply. His eyes bulged and he tried to claw at the offending piece of lead until she repositioned herself so that his arms were pinned beneath her as well.
"You've no idea…" She leaned back slightly and eased the pressure she was exerting on his throat. "Now, for my questions. I know you're in on this little scheme with your brother and your uncle. I know that your uncle is supposed to be dead; at least the grandmothers were relatively sure he was dead when they left him behind so long ago. I also know you seem to feel that everything the grandmothers have done is rightfully yours, I've never understood that… Anyway, you sent Byron to the site at Catalhoyuk once you discovered Gabrielle was there, you knew that if I thought she was in danger, I'd come after her. To make sure your little plan worked you left the notes. Once you had me in your possession you lost it, you weren't able to get the answers you were searching for and so you tried to destroy me. Your plan didn't work by the way. It took me a while but I finally figured out why you're showing so much interest in a stone that probably never existed to begin with. You're running scared, I'm not sure from what though." Xena sat heavily on his chest as she ran through her monologue.
"You don't know what you're talking about," Liam wheezed.
"Oh, sure I do." She nodded impatiently, ignoring the stabbing pain in her shoulder and across her too-tender back where the fabric of her blouse was pulled taut. Her speech was becoming more animated as she continued. "I've been asking myself why a slug, such as yourself, would specifically ask for the location of the Ixion stone if you were so concerned about the grandmother's research and discoveries being rightfully your uncle's? You see, they never found the Ixion stone, as a matter of fact, the only thing they ever found that so much as mentions it, doesn't say all that much about it. Granma-Jan thinks it was just thrown into the story as creative license, just a storytellers' device to add some action to the plot."
Liam's expression seethed hatred as he watched Xe, waiting for a moment of weakness to allow him to escape from her control. He had relied too much, he realized, on the old fear she had held for him. "I don't need to explain anything to you," his words were strained and he bit off his comment before he said anything to change her light hold on the pipe.
"Hmm? I can't totally agree with you on that one. You see, I've still got the upper hand if you'll notice." Xe's face glowed with an almost too cheerful smile, her eyes dancing as they watched Liam squirm beneath her. "Now tell me, why do you want the Ixion stone?"
Liam turned his face from her, refusing to answer her query.
Xe sighed, this was going to be a very long day.